Songs you're convinced you're the only person who's heard

Cafe Society
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or at least the only person who’s loved.

Inspired by the book thread of similar title, what songs do you absolutely love, particularly those by well known artists, that very few other people ever seem to have heard of?

Starting the list with a few of my own:

Let it Roll [aka The Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp] by George Harrison- I love everything about this song from the piano solo to the lyrics to the imagery. Unfortunately it’s only available on the All Things Must Pass CD and I don’t want to pay $30 for one song- the other stuff is either on “Best of” or “Concert For” CDs that I already have or is crap (imo).

Marrakesh Night Market by Loreena McKennitt- just an awesome song and sound. (I know that Loreena’s suffered major personal tragedies in the past few years, but I wish she’d go back into the studio again- I need a new fix.)

Matthew & Son by Cat Stevens- written and recorded when he was a bambino but still fantastic. (My next favorite Stevens song is Trouble , which not many people who aren’t Harold & Maude fans remember, but there are enough of those to disqualify it from this thread.

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Hmmm… No one ever seems to remember “Talk It Over In Bed” by Grayson Hughes. I love the song though.

OK, I was wrong about the book I thought no one else had read; maybe this will be another one everyone remembers :wink:

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I have listened to all of those songs.

How about Jackaroe or Jackaroo by any band? It is an old bluegrass/folk song.

4

Any Deadhead worth his Visine bottle will have heard “Jackaroe.”

I think I may be the only person who heard “Flip,” by Nils Lofgren. I haven’t heard it in years, but it still floats through my mind every once in awhile.

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I have also heard the Loreena McKennit and Cat Stevens songs mentioned very often. And like them.

Then again, outside China, who has heard of one of my all-time favourite songs *Tian Tang *by Tengger?

On more well-known territory, another of my favourites is Peter Gabriel’s cover of Suzanne, not that well-known.

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Just about everything from the album Ear of Beholder by Lol Coxhill, but especially, “I Am the Walrus” (the definitive version :wink: ), “Two Little Pigeons,” “That’s Why Darkies Were Born,” and “A Series of Superbly Played Mellotron Codas”

“I’d Love to Change the World,” by Steve Kazeroski (better known, if at all, as Steve Martin). Steve was a member of the Left Banke, and put out this album. He cowrote the song with Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, and it was their biggest top 40 hit. Martin claimed co-credit on his solo album, and Lee didn’t object, since he sang backup on the cut.

Anything from Emitt Rhode’s first album, a great collection of pop tunes, but especially, “My Face on the Floor,” “She’s Such a Beauty,” “Lullaby,” “You Must Have,” and “Fresh as a Daisy (OMG! It’s playing right now on iTunes! I haven’t heard it in years!)”

Kak – “Electric Sailor,” “Everything’s Changing”

Renaissance – “Kings and Queens” (The group became famous after it had a complete personnel change, but their first album is by far their best).

Blood Sweat and Tears – “I Can’t Quit Her,” “House in the Country,” “Just One Smile,” “Something’s Going On.” Like Renaissance, the name is familar but the group isn’t – this was the Al Kooper version, not the better-known incarnation with David Clayton-Thomas.

McDonald and Giles – “Birdman”

The Anemic Boyfriend – “Guys Are Not Proud” – great punk rock song.

Python Lee Jackson – “In a Broken Dream” One of guest vocalist Rod Stewart’s best songs. (The Allmusic guide says it was an alias for Stewart and a backing band, but I saw the album and it said he was the guest vocalist and did not appear on other songs).

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“lullaby” by Billy Joel

It’s a beautiful song.

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“The Yard Went On Forever” A Jimmy Webb song performed by Richard Harris.

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From Pink Floyd’s Obscured by Clouds LP - itself overlooked.

Childhood’s End - A Gilmour song I think

Free Four - Sort of bouncey with OTT gloomy lyrics*, starts "one two free four. Also has a sub-Money guitar solo.
Then there’s Katrina and the Waves b-sides :slight_smile: (Spiderman anyone?)
*Things like “you suffer in the gloom of the sick room - and talk to yourself as you die” hehehe

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“Telephone Box” by Roger Glover and Ian Gillan of Deep Purple. I’d remembered for about 15 years from when the straight-ahead rock station used to play it for about a a month, and I found it on the old Napster. It wasn’t as good as I’d remembered. I just found out it’s off an album they did together. I’d thought it was a one-off single.

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Though I’m sure it’s more well-known than most of the other songs on this thread, Piggies by the Beatles seems to be one of their more obscure songs. I was very surprised when my dad (a big Beatles fan back in the day) told me he had never even heard of it.

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Nightwatch We know Piggies (they always have clean shirts). Haven’t heard ir for years though 'coz someone nicked my copy of the White Album and I’ve not got round to replacing it.

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Every Townes van Zandt song that’s not Poncho & Leftie. I love *Poncho & Leftietoo, of course but it’s not that obscure, whereas most of his other songs aren’t that well known. And every single one of them is at least great, the best ones are pure genius.

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“A Heart to Hang Onto” by Pete Townsend and Ronnie Lane…One of my favorite ballads…I don’t know many people who have heard of it.

“Rick James” by Jude It got airplay but never seemed to go anywhere. I didn’t understand why.

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A song from the 80’s called Kayleigh that I remember nothing about except I saw it late one night and it caused my wife and me to change our daughter’s name from Katherine to Kayleigh. We only saw it the one time, even though we watched a lot of MTV at the time, and would have believed we imagined it if we hadn’t met someone who named their pet after the song/video.

Any info out there on the artist and song?

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If your friends haven’t heard this, then they’re not really your friends! :smiley:
You must eb hanging out with the wrong friends…any Billy Joel fan would know this song. I admit, it received less air play, but still…how could others have missed it?

Billy Joel…never a forgotten can of beans!

  • Jinx, big Joel fan!
    P.S. Worked with a guy who gave Billy Joel the algebra answers…
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You mean the one by Marillion? Thought that was quite well known.

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Excellent forgotten wonder of the 1980’s! I remember the song very well. I believe it is by a band called Merillion. Visit a used record or oldies store. You might find a copy. But, when inquiring, make sure the person is not confused with the song “Kyrie” by Mr. Mister which was popular about the same time.

If I am wrong, my second guess is a band called “Honeymoon Suite”, but I don’t believe it is. Go with my first almost-positive recollection. Dang, I wish I had “Kayleigh” in my collection!

  • Jinx
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Do you remember the '70s? No one seems to recall the following:

“Harry Truman” by Chicago
“Crackerbox Palace” by George Harrison
“Shake It” by Ian Matthews
“The Night Chicago Died” by Paper Lace

“Billy Don’t Be A Hero” by Paper Lace (The Top 40 books by Joel Whitburn, who compiled chart info, does not give Paper Lace credit. Instead, he says it was by Bo Donaldson and the Heywoods.) I don’t understand this…in Baltimore, they were most certainly playing the Paperlace version. Without a doubt.

Also, George Harrison has a song called “Blow Away”. Does anyone know if this song says “blow away, blow away, blow away” kinda like Enya’s “Sail Away, sail away, sail away”? I always thought he was saying “go away…”

Ah, what memories!

  • Jinx
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One last title comes to mind:

Do who remember: Who;s Behind the Door? by Zebra. What a cool song!
Ok, I’ve said enough, now…

  • Jinx